1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to user interfaces for electronic devices, such as computer systems and telephones. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for generating an audio signature for a data item based on a source identifier associated with the data item.
2. Related Art
As user interfaces for computer systems continue to evolve, audio indicators are becoming more frequently used to indicate state changes or to notify a user of specific actions that are occurring within a computer interface. These audio indicators may convey the same information as is conveyed through other media, such as graphical indicators on a computer display, or they may complement and/or modify the information conveyed through other media.
One of the benefits of using audio indicators in a user interface is that they convey information without requiring the user to look at the computer display. This is an advantage because sometimes a graphical indicator can be buried under other windows on the computer display. In this case, the user must manipulate the graphical display in order to view a particular graphical indicator.
Many changes in state within a computer system relate to the arrival of a particular data item, such as a piece of electronic mail, an updated web page, or a new value in a shared data structure (such as a change in a stock price). At present, such changes in state may be accompanied by an audio signal indicating, for example, that an electronic mail message has arrived. However, such audio signals do not convey information identifying where or who the message originated from.
Some telephone systems provide a different ring for phone calls received from an outside line versus phone calls received from internal extensions. However, this type of system does not further identify the source of the communication.
What is a needed is a method and an apparatus that associates different audio signals with data items that are received from different sources.
One challenge in customizing sounds from a large number of sources is to design sounds that enable a listener to differentiate between sounds associated with different sources. The task of manually associating sounds with many different sources can be quite time-consuming.
Hence, what is needed is a method and an apparatus that automatically associates different sounds with objects received from different sources.
One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that generates an audio signature for a data item based on a source identifier associated with the data item. The system operates by receiving a source identifier along with a data item. (This source identifier can include an electronic signature identifying a source of a data item, such as an email address.) The system maps the source identifier to the audio signature using a mapping function that allows a user to distinguish the audio signature from other audio signatures generated for other source identifiers, and wherein the mapping functions always maps the same source identifier to the same audio signature. Next, the system outputs the audio signature to a user. This enables the user to associate the audio signature with the source from which the data item originated.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the source identifier can identify a human being, a computer system from which the data item originated, a computer program, a telephone line, an Internet Protocol (IP) address, or an intelligent agent on a computer network.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the data item can include an electronic mail message, a pager signal, a telephone call, a communication in an instant messaging system, an indicator of an entry of a new participant into a conference call, an indicator of an entry of a new participant into a chat room, or an electronic cookie that identifies a client computer system to a web site.
In one embodiment of the present invention, mapping the source identifier involves performing a hash function on the source identifier to produce a hash value for the source identifier, and then associating the hash value with the audio signature.
In one embodiment of the present invention, mapping the source identifier to the audio signature involves using a context for the data item so that the context influences the mapping. In a variation on this embodiment, the context can include a context related to the source of the data item, or a context related to a destination of the data item.
In one embodiment of the present invention, mapping the source identifier involves using a mapping function with the property that data items from the same source, but with different source identifiers, are mapped to the same audio signature. For example, an email message and a telephone call from the same person have different source identifiers (a telephone number versus an email address), but they can be mapped to the same audio signature, or to variations of the same audio signature.
In one embodiment of the present invention, outputting the audio signature includes outputting a tactile signal in the form of a vibration.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the audio signature includes a melody that identifies the source of the data item.
In one embodiment of the present invention, mapping the source identifier to the audio signature involves mapping the source identifier to an audio signature that is unique to the source identifier.